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Naburn

NABURN, a parochial chapelry, in the wapentake of
Ouse and Derwent, union and E. riding of York, 4¼
miles (S.) from York; containing 426 inhabitants. This
chapelry is situated on the navigable river Ouse, which
bounds it on the west, and over which is a ferry to
Acaster-Malbis. It consists of 2720 acres of rich land,
two-thirds arable, and the remainder meadow; the surface is generally flat, deriving considerable advantage
from its contiguity to the river. Naburn Hall is the
seat of George Palmes, Esq. The living is a perpetual
curacy, with a net income of £80, and in the patronage
of Mr. Palmes. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a school, built by Mr. Palmes, is endowed
with the interest of £100 bequeathed by Edward Loftus, in the year 1784, for the education of ten poor
children.

Nackington (St. Mary)

NACKINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Bridge, hundred of Bridge and Petham, lathe of
St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 2¼ miles (S.) from
Canterbury; containing 113 inhabitants. This parish,
which is situated on the line of the ancient Stane-street,
comprises 887a. 3r. 4p., whereof 677 acres are arable,
104 pasture, and 93 woodland. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £52; patron, the Archbishop
of Canterbury; impropriator, the Hon. G. Milles.

Nacton (St. Martin)

NACTON (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of
Woodbridge, hundred of Colneis, E. division of Suffolk, 4 miles (S. E.) from Ipswich; containing 765 inhabitants. It is bounded on the south by the river
Orwell, and comprises 1882a. 3r. 20p. The living is a
discharged rectory, with that of Levington united, valued
in the king's books at £8. 7. 1., and is in the patronage
of the Rector's family: the tithes have been commuted
for £525, and the glebe comprises 22 acres. Near the
road between Ipswich and Trimley, within this parish,
is a place called the Seven Hills, from a number of barrows, though there are more than the name implies. It
has been conjectured that it was here, and not at Rushmere, as stated by some historians, that Earl Ulfketel
engaged the Danes in 1010.

Nafferton

NAFFERTON, a township, in the parish of Ovingham, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward,
S. division of Northumberland, 9 miles (E.) from
Hexham; containing 35 inhabitants. The township
comprises 773 acres: coal is obtained within its limits.
The hamlet is situated in a pleasant vale, about two
miles north-west from the village of Ovingham. The
impropriate tithes have been commuted for £8. At the
north-west end of Whittle-bridge, on the Newcastle and
Corbridge road, are vestiges of a castle built in the reign
of Henry III. There are many legends respecting it:
a celebrated freebooter named Long Lonkin is said to
have entered the castle in the absence of the owner, and
to have murdered his wife, and buried her in a deep
hole in the stream beneath.

Nafferton (All Saints)

NAFFERTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Driffield, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of
York, 2¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Driffield; containing
1371 inhabitants, of whom 1129 are in the township of
Nafferton. This parish is about seven miles in length,
from north to south, and from two to three miles in
breadth; and includes the pleasant village of Wansford,
and the hamlet of Pockthorpe. The lands are in a
profitable state of cultivation, and a portion of them has
been greatly improved by the use of bone-dust for
manure, first introduced here by Sir Tatton Sykes. The
Driffield canal passes through the parish. The village
of Nafferton is on the road to Bridlington. The living
is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£13. 15. 4.; net income, £139; patron and appropriator, the Archbishop of York. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1769. The
church is a handsome structure in the later English
style, with a square embattled tower crowned by pinnacles. There are places of worship for Independents
and Wesleyans. Lands worth £20 a year have been
left for parish uses, and the poor have some land, of
equal value, also bequeathed. About a mile and a half
from Pockthorpe, is a place called Danes' Grave, where
nearly 200 tumuli are in various states of preservation;
many of them have been opened at different times.
They are supposed to cover the bodies of the slain in a
battle, perhaps with the troops of Harold; or the spot
may have been the place of sepulture of a colony of
Danes residing at Danes' Dale, which is about a mile
distant.

Nailsea (Holy Trinity)

NAILSEA (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union
of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of
Somerset, 8½ miles (W. by S.) from Bristol; containing 2550 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on
the road from Bristol to Clevedon, comprises by computation 2800 acres. The manufacture of crown-glass has
been established more than 50 years, and affords employment to 200 persons. Coal is very abundant; the
collieries supply the country for many miles round, and
employ more than half the population: there are also
large quarries of stone, from which paving-stone and
slabs for grave-stones are raised. The Bristol and
Exeter railway, which has a station here, passes through
the parish. The living is a rectory, in the gift of Mrs.
Mary Brown; the tithes have been commuted for £430,
and the glebe comprises 2½ acres, with a house. The
church is an ancient structure in the decorated and
later English styles, with a lofty embattled tower
crowned by pinnacles; the pulpit is of stone richly
sculptured, and is ascended by a winding flight of steps
in the wall. A district church, dedicated to Christ, has
been erected: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the
gift of the Rector, with an income of £120. There are
places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans.

Nailstone (All Saints)

NAILSTONE (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S.
division of the county of Leicester, 3½ miles (N. N. E.)
from Market-Bosworth; containing, with the chapelry
of Normanton-le-Heath, and township of Barton-in-theBeans, 710 inhabitants, of whom 314 are in the township of Nailstone. The parish comprises by computation 3450 acres of land; the surface is gently undulated,
and the prevailing soil is a rich loam. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 9. 9½., and
in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been
commuted for £570, and the glebe comprises 60 acres.
In addition to the parochial church, there is a chapel of
ease at Normanton-le-Heath.

Nailsworth

NAILSWORTH, a chapelry, chiefly in the parish of
Horsley, but partly in the parishes of Avening and
Minchin-Hampton, union of Stroud, hundred of
Longtree, E. division of the county of Gloucester,
2 miles (S. W. by W.) from Minchin-Hampton; containing 1121 inhabitants. It is in a beautifully diversified
country, on the road from Bath to Cheltenham. The
manufacture of superfine woollen-cloth is carried on in
several establishments, affording employment to nearly all
the population. A philosophical institution is supported
by subscription. There is a small customary market on
Saturday. A chapel was erected in 1798, in that part
of the village which is in the parish of Avening: the
living is in the gift of Trustees. The Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans, have
places of worship.

Nantwich (St. Mary and St. Nicholas)

NANTWICH (St. Mary and St. Nicholas), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the
hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of
Chester; containing, with the townships of Alvaston,
Leighton, Woolstanwood, and part of Willaston, 5921
inhabitants, of whom 5489 are in the town, 20 miles
(S. E. by E.) from Chester, and 164 (N. W.) from London, on the road to Chester. The origin of this town,
which is of uncertain date, has been attributed to the
Britons, prior to the Roman invasion, when it is said to
have been called Halen Gwyn, "the white salt town:"
its modern appellation is probably a compound of the
British term Nant, "a brook or marsh," and the Saxon
Vic, by corruption Wich, "a vill or settlement," which
latter term appears indefinably to have been appropriated to towns where salt was made. Previously to
the Conquest, the importance of the place consisted in
its numerous brine-springs, which became an ample
source of revenue to the king and to Earl Edwin, between whom, according to the record of Domesday, the
district was unequally divided. It was soon after erected
into a barony by Hugh Lupus, the first Norman earl of
Chester, who conferred it, together with the whole hundred, on William Malbedeng or Malbank; in consequence of which the town was for some time denominated Wich Malbank. At the time of the Norman
invasion, Nantwich was defended by a line of earthworks
constructed along the bank of the river, but the opposition made to the progress of the invaders was terminated
by a battle fought here in 1069. The inhabitants then
became subject to the incursions of the Welsh, who are
said to have destroyed the town in 1133. In 1146,
a predatory band of that people was routed at Nantwich, on returning from one of their plundering inroads; and in 1282 Edward I. came hither, to concert
measures of protection for the inhabitants from similar
annoyance.

On the return of James I. from Scotland, in 1617, he
was received here with demonstrations of joy; yet during the subsequent disastrous reign, the town was remarkable for its firm adherence to the cause of the
parliament, and was garrisoned in its behalf. In 1642,
it was captured by the royalists, from whom, however,
it was soon after taken by Sir W. Brereton, who fortified
the place, and made it his head-quarters. Sir Thomas
Aston made an effort to dislodge him; but this attempt,
as well as a regular investment and vigorous assault of
the town by Lord Byron about the close of the year
1643, proved unsuccessful; and Sir Thomas Fairfax
having defeated the royalists in the neighbourhood of
Nantwich, the parliamentarians held the town during
the remainder of the war. On the defeat of the Scottish
army in 1646, the Duke of Hamilton, with 3050 cavalry,
found a temporary refuge here. In 1438 and 1583, the
town suffered severely from fire; in the latter year, the
injury it sustained was estimated at upwards of £30,000,
and a royal licence was granted for a general collection
to assist in its renovation.

The town is situated on the banks of the river
Weaver, in a level and fertile tract of country. It is
irregularly built, and consists principally of three streets;
most of the houses are of timber and brick, having projecting stories, but some, of modern erection, are of
respectable appearance: the inhabitants enjoy a plentiful supply of water. Throughout a long period the
brine-springs were a source of commerce: during the
conflicts between Henry III. and the Welsh, that sovereign imposed a temporary restraint on the manufacture,
in order to harass his opponents, who carried on an extensive traffic in salt; but on the restoration of peace it
was resumed. In the time of Henry VIII. there were
300 salt-works; but this number, from the destruction
of several by fire, and the discovery of springs and mines
of superior quality in other parts, where the facility of
communication by water was greater, became gradually
reduced, and at present only one spring remains. In
the time of Elizabeth and of James, the tanning business,
and the manufacture of bone-lace and stockings, prevailed; but they have been long superseded by the
making of shoes, chiefly for the London and Manchester
markets, and the manufacture of gloves and cotton goods,
which afford employment to about 2000 persons. Cheese
is the principal article of agricultural produce. A canal
from Chester, terminating about a quarter of a mile from
the town, was completed in 1778, at an expense of about
£80,000; and the Liverpool and Birmingham Junction
canal, begun in 1826, was opened some years since. The
town is only a few miles distant from the great railway
station at Crewe. The market is on Saturday; and fairs
chiefly for cattle, sheep, and pigs, are held on March
26th, the second Tuesday in June, September 4th, and
December 4th. A market for cattle, likewise, is held
once a fortnight, from Candlemas until the fair in
March. The civil government of the town was anciently vested in a guild, and a bailiff and various other
officers were regularly appointed until the fraternity was
suppressed in the time of Edward VI. Petty-sessions
for the hundred, and various manorial courts, are held
here; and there is a county debt-court, established in
1847, whose powers extend over part of the registrationdistrict of Nantwich: the inhabitants are exempt from
being empanelled on juries beyond the jurisdiction of
the place. The town-hall, originally built in 1720, at
an expense of £600, by George, Prince of Wales and
Earl of Chester, afterwards George II., was rebuilt some
years subsequently; it is used also as a market-house.

The parish comprises by measurement 2925 acres, of
which 552 are in Nantwich township. The living is a
rectory; net income, £269; patrons, the Trustees of
Lord Crewe. The church is a spacious and venerable
cruciform structure, principally in the decorated and
later English styles, and comprises a nave with aisles,
a chancel, transepts, and an ornamented octagonal tower
rising from the intersection. The chancel has a groined
roof, and contains stalls enriched with carved subsellia,
and with tabernacle-work; under the north-eastern
angle of the arches which support the tower is a stone
pulpit projecting from the piers, neatly carved in the
ancient English style. A district church was erected at
Leighton in 1838; and there are places of worship in
the parish for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Unitarians. The grammar school, an ancient edifice in the
churchyard, vested in the crown at the suppression of
the guild to which it belonged, and subsequently purchased for its present purpose, was endowed in 1611,
with a small sum, the joint benefaction of John and
Thomas Thrush. The Blue-cap school has various benefactions; and a national Sunday school was endowed
with £20 per annum, by William Sprout, Esq., in 1829.
An almshouse for six men was founded in 1613, by Sir
Roger Wilbraham, and endowed by Lady Wilbraham
with £12 per annum: another, for the same number,
was founded by Sir Edmund Wright, in 1638; a house
for four men and their wives in 1722, by Mrs. Ermine
Delves; one for six widows by Roger Wilbraham, Esq.,
in 1676; and one for seven poor persons, in 1767, by
the Crewe family. The union of Nantwich comprises
85 parishes or places, containing a population of 33,811.
The castle, erected by the first Norman baron, was in
ruins prior to the reign of Henry VII., and its site alone
is now pointed out. Thomas Harrison, a major-general
in the parliamentarian army, and one of the judges at
the trial of Charles I.; John Gerarde, the herbalist,
born in 1545; and Geoffrey Witney, a minor poet in
the reign of Elizabeth, were natives of the town: the
widow of the poet Milton was born in the vicinity, where
she spent the latter period of her life, and died at an
advanced age in the year 1726. The Marquess of Cholmondeley enjoys the inferior title of Baron Cholmondeley
of Namptwich.

Nappa

NAPPA, a township, in the parish of Gisburn,
union of Settle, W. division of the wapentake of
Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 7½
miles (S. S. E.) from Settle; containing 35 inhabitants.
It comprises about 440 acres, chiefly meadow and pasture, and is on the road from Gisburn to Settle.

Napton-on-the-Hill (St. Lawrence)

NAPTON-on-the-Hill (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Southam, Southern division of
the hundred of Knightlow, S. division of the county
of Warwick, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Southam; containing 951 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 3635 acres, of which 2947 are pasture, 668
arable, and 20 woodland. It is situated on the road
from Warwick to Northampton, and within its bounds
the Warwick and Napton and the Coventry and Oxford
canals form a junction. The rateable annual value of
canal property in the parish is returned at £2522. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £9. 14., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £345, with a house. The impropriate tithes are
said to have been granted by Queen Elizabeth to Robert,
Earl of Leicester, by whom they were given as an endowment for the hospital founded by him at Warwick.
On the inclosure of the parish in 1778, the commissioners
awarded to the hospital 490 acres of land, and to the
vicar 201 acres, in lieu of tithes. The church is an ancient structure; in the chancel is a stone said to represent a gridiron, alluding to the martyrdom of the patron
saint. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists; and two national schools are supported by
subscription. The astroites, or star stones, adopted by
the Shuckburghs in their armorial bearings, are found at
Napton, where the family have held lands from a period
prior to the Conquest. Adjoining the parish of Leamington-Hastings, is a tumulus anciently called Tomblay, and now Tomlow, near which human bones are
frequently dug up, and which is supposed to indicate
the scene of some battle in early times.

Narborough (All Saints)

NARBOROUGH (All Saints), a parish, in the
union of Blaby, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division
of the county of Leicester, 5¼ miles (S. W. by S.) from
Leicester; containing, with the hamlet of Huncote, and
part of Littlethorpe, 1329 inhabitants. Here was Huncote Palace, a residence of the Norman kings of England, at which Henry I. held his court in 1124. The
parish comprises by measurement 1500 acres, about onehalf arable and the other chiefly meadow and pasture;
the surface is flat, with a few gentle undulations, and
the soil is in some parts a light mould, and in others a
clayey marl, alternated with an intermixture of pebbles.
The river Soar, which is here very narrow, is crossed by
a bridge on the old Fosse road. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £26. 14. 4½., and in the
gift of Thomas Pares, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £363, and the glebe comprises 89 acres. The
church is in the decorated English style. There is a
place of worship for Independents.

Narburgh (All Saints)

NARBURGH (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Swaffham, hundred of South Greenhoe, W. division of Norfolk, 5½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Swaffham; containing 360 inhabitants. Narburgh, so called
by the Saxons from the river Nar, was a British city in
the fifth century, and subsequently, when governed
by Earl Okenard, endured a long siege by Waldy, a
neighbouring chieftain, who razed it to the ground. The
parish comprises 3445a. 3r. 34p., of which about 1562
acres are arable, 667 good pasture and meadow, 342
woodland, and 801 common, sheep-pasture, and furze.
The village is pleasantly situated on the road from Lynn
to Norwich, and on the southern bank of the river Nar,
which has a wharf, where is a considerable traffic in
coal, timber, corn, &c. The Lynn and Dereham railway,
also, has a station at Narburgh. Here is one of the
largest malt-houses in the county, 275 feet in length,
and 50 in breadth, with four stories; the quantity of
barley steeped in four days is 365 combs. The living is
a vicarage endowed with the rectorial tithes, with the
living of Narford united, valued in the king's books at
£9. 10., and in the patronage of the Rev. Henry Spelman: the tithes have been commuted for £363, and the
glebe comprises 94 acres, with a house. The church has
at various times received additions and improvements;
it contains some handsome monuments to the family of
Spelman, one of whom, Judge Spelman, in the reign of
Henry VIII., erected the Hall in the parish. There are
several earthworks and intrenchments, particularly a
large fosse and rampart running hence, from an artificial
eminence called the Burgh, to Eastmore Fen, and which
defended the western boundary of the hundred.

Narford (St. Mary)

NARFORD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Swaffham, hundred of South Greenhoe, W. division
of Norfolk, 4¾ miles (N. W.) from Swaffham; containing 113 inhabitants, and comprising 2396a. 3r. 35p.
The place seems to have been a Roman station, from
the bricks, urns, and other relics that have been discovered. Narford Hall was built by Sir Andrew Fountaine, vice-chamberlain to Queen Caroline (consort of
George II.), and the companion of Pope, Swift, and
their literary society; he enriched the mansion with a
collection of antiquities, paintings, and curiosities, which
has been considerably increased by the present proprietor. The park, in which the church is picturesquely
situated, contains some very fine timber, and a beautiful
lake 60 acres in extent, well stocked with trout. The
village, on the north of which runs the river Nar, is
said to have been a mile long in the time of William the
Conqueror; and in the reign of Edward III. Sir Thomas
de Narford obtained for it a market and two fairs, long
since fallen into disuse. The living is a discharged
vicarage, united to the living of Narburgh, and valued
in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; appropriator, the
Bishop of Ely. The great tithes have been commuted
for £185, and the vicarial for £144. 17. Brigge Fountaine, Esq., a translator of Don Quixote, was a native of
the parish, and dying in 1825, in the 82nd year of his
age, was buried here.

Naseby (All Saints)

NASEBY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of
Brixworth, hundred of Guilsborough, S. division of
the county of Northampton, 3 miles (S. E. by E.) from
Welford; containing 898 inhabitants. The Nene and
the Avon take their rise in the village, which is supposed to be nearly in the centre of England, and is so
elevated that the former river flows into the North Sea,
and the latter into the Severn at Bristol. The celebrated
Naseby Field, consisting of nearly 4000 acres, was inclosed in 1820 by the lord of the manor, who erected a
beautiful pillar with a suitable inscription to commemorate the decisive battle fought here on the 14th of June,
1645, between the royalist army commanded by Charles I.,
and the parliamentary forces headed by Fairfax and
Cromwell, when the king's army was irretrievably defeated. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £8; net income, £90; patron and
impropriator, G. A. Maddock, Esq.: the tithes were
commuted for land and a money payment in 1820. The
church is very ancient.

Nash

NASH, a hamlet, in the parish of Whaddon, union
of Winslow, hundred of Cottesloe, county of Buckingham, 5 miles (S. by W.) from the town of StonyStratford; containing 366 inhabitants. The tithes were
commuted for land and a money payment in 1830.
Here are two endowed almshouses.

Nash, county of Hereford.—See Rod.

NASH, county of Hereford.—See Rod.

Nash (St. Mary)

NASH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newport, division of Christchurch, hundred of Caldicot, county of Monmouth, 3½ miles (S. E. by S.) from
Newport; containing 291 inhabitants. It comprises
2000 acres, of which 20 are waste or common. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £9. 15.; income, £80; patrons and impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Eton College. The
great tithes have been commuted for £30; and the vicarial for £26, with a glebe of 1½ acre. There is a place
of worship for Baptists.

Nash, county of Salop.—See Weston.

NASH, county of Salop.—See Weston.

Nassington (St. Mary)

NASSINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Oundle, hundred of Willybrook, N. division of
the county of Northampton, 2¼ miles (S. S. W.) from
Wansford; containing 721 inhabitants. It is on the
left bank of the Nene, and consists of 1543a. 2r. 24p.;
the river separates it from the county of Huntingdon.
The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Yarwell
annexed, in the patronage of the Bishop of Peterborough,
valued in the king's books at £7. 13. 4.; net income,
£153. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.